Refrigerating apparatus



March 24, 1959 J. J. JosAlTls REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 9. 1956 March 24, 1959 J. J. JosAlTls 2,878,534

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed oct. 9. 195s 2 sham-sheet 2 1 1 1 1 I l 1 1 l l I l 1 11 1 HL* //l //l// fad/7 cf fam/r1.5

WAM

Unite REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS Application october 9, 1956, serial No. 614,965

z claims. (ci. zii-ss) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to closure members for freezing compartments of refrigerator cabinets.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved door construction which may be subjected to high and low temperature without becoming warped or damaged.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a closure member or door having an inner plastic panel and a metal outer panel assembled in an improved interlocking manner to one another to prevent warpage of the door when the sides are exposed to different environment each having appreciable temperature differentials therebetween.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved insulated door for closing the access opening to a frozen food compartment within a conventional food storage chamber of a household refrigerator arranged in a manner whereby the inner panel is interlocked to the outer panel to permit free expansion and/or contraction of the outer panel while holding the inner panel against bowing or twisting so that warpage of the door is minimized to prevent misalignment thereof with the seal about the access opening of the frozen food compartment that is to be closed thereby. Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference 2,878,534 Patented Mar. 24, 1959 fice a partitional wall 40 to form a freezing or frozen food storage compartment 42 which is cooled by an evaporator 44. The evaporator 44 is a box-shaped metal liner 46 about which is wrapped and secured in thermal heat exchange relation refrigerant evaporating conduit or coils 48. The liner 46 is secured in spaced apart relation from the liner 32 and from the partitional wall 40 to provide for heat insulation Sli therebetween. Heat breaker strips 52 span the edge of the liner 46 to the liner 32 and to the partitional wall 40 to provide a front wall and also serve as a finish strip around an access opening 54 to the frozen food storage compartment. The opening 54 is closed by a closure member or door 60 to avoid loss of cold air from the frozen food storage compartment when the outer door 26 of the refrigerator is opened, and to prevent circulation of air between the frozen food storage compartment 42 and the conventional food storage compartment 22.

The food storage compartment 22 is provided with a refrigerant evaporator coil or plate 58 positioned prefer-` ably adjacent the rear wall of the compartment to cool the air circulating therearound to maintain the compartbeing had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in cross section `taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

" Fig. 3 is a front view of the door embodying features offmy invention with parts broken away and parts shown in section;y

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view in cross section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view in cross section taken along line 5-5 of Fig. 3 with parts broken away;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view in cross section taken along the line 6--6 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view in cross section taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. l.

Shown in the drawing is a refrigerator cabinet of the household type, designated in general by the numeral 20, having a conventional food storage compartment 22 to which access is had through opening 24 that is closed by a door 26 which may be hinged to one side wall of the cabinet. The cabinet comprises in general an outer casing 30 and an inner liner 32 which is secured within the outer casing in spaced relation therewith to provide for heat insulation 34 therebetween. At the front of the cabinet heat breaker strips 36 span the edges of the liner and casing.

The liner 32 serves as the sides ofthe foodstorage compartment 22, the upper portion of which is divided o by ment at temperatures above freezing. The frozen food compartment 42 is maintained at temperatures below freezing by the refrigerant evaporator coil 48. The refrigerant evaporator coils 48, 58 are suitably connected to a refrigerant compressor condenser unit (not shown) for the circulation of refrigerant therethrough.

In accordance with my invention the frozen food storage compartment door 60 is constructed having an outer metal panel 62, an inner plastic panel 64 in spaced apart relation with heat insulation 65 provided therebetween. The outer metal panel 62 is formed with sides 66, 63, 70, 72 flanged towards the plastic panel 64. The marginal edge of the side 68 is turned inwardly to provide a continuous tongue 74 for the major portion along the side 68. The opposed sides 70 and 72 are formed with their marginal edges 76 turned to extend towards each other and having a plurality of spaced apart tongues 78 formed integrally therewith and extending planularly therefrom.

Preferably the plastic panel 64 may be of the molded type though from the following description other forms of fabrication will be apparent. The panel 64 is formed along three of its marginal edges with a thickened or ribbed section 80 preferably on its inner side or surface. The fourth side of the panel is formed witha flange 82 extending from the inner face to overlie the marginal edge 8'4 of the side 66 of the outer panel for securement therewith by screws 86. Formed in the thickened portion of the inner panel along the side opposite to the flange 82 is a groove 88 adapted to receive the tongue 74, and on the adjacent connecting sides 90 of the inner panel 64 the thickened portion is arranged as a series of spaced apart bosses 92 having grooves 94 adapted to receive a respective tongue 78 of the outer panel 62. The bosses 92 and grooves 94 are arranged in complimentary relation with the tongues 78 with the spacings 96 between the bosses of greater width than the length of the tongues 78.

In assemblying the panels the inner panel 64 is offset upon the outer panel so that the tongues 78 enter the spacings 96 with the panel 64 resting on the edge 76, and the tongue 74 is adjacent the groove 88. A relatively short sliding movement of the inner panel will cause the groove 88 to receive tongue 74 and the tongues 78 to enter grooves 94 to interlock three sides of the panels together, the fourth side being secured by screws 86, upon the abutment of ange 82 against the marginal edge 84, to prevent disengagement of the interlocked panels. The screws 86 enter openings 98, formed in the ange 82, which are larger in diameter than the screws to permit with the tongue and groove interlocking arrangement an independent free expansion and/or contraction movement of one panel without causing bowing or warpage to the other. By this arrangement similar or dissimilar materials may be used for the inner and the outer panel for a door wherein each side is exposed to an environment having different temperatures. Further the present arrangement permits the inner panel to be held in a fiat planular condition to provide a tight seal against a gasket 102 that is carried by the breaker strip 52 adjacent the access opening 54 to prevent air leakage therethrough, and reduces to a minimum any tendency of icing or frost formation to build up around the door.

As the inner and outer panel are not tightly sealed togcther by the above described interlocking arrangement, a series of small openings 106 are provided adjacent the lower corners of the inner panel to permit the passage of moisture by diffusion to flow therethrough from the insulation material 65 into the frozen food storage compartment 42.

The frozen food storage compartment door 60 is mounted by hinges 110 to the liner 32. The hinges 110 are similar to that shown and described in United States Letters Patent No. 2,758,454, granted to Hursle E. Cossin. To hold the door in closed position there is provided a frictional locking arrangement comprising a spring pressed plunger 112 adapted to be carried by the door 66 for engagement with a keeper 114 secured to the liner 32 of the refrigerator cabinet. A reinforcement member 116 is attached to the inner side of the metal panel 62 to provide support for the attachment of the plunger assembly 112 and for a pull handle 120.

Although only a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated, and that form described in detail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A rectangular door structure adapted as a closure between zones having an appreciable temperature differential, said structure comprising inner and outer panels forming a space therebetween, insulating material disposed in and substantially filling the space between said panels, said panels formed of dissimilar material having dilierent characteristics for expansion and/ or contraction upon changes in environment temperature, said outer panel flanged about its periphery to extend towards said inner panel and forming sides thereof, means for interlocking said panels together to permit each of said panels to expand and/or contract independently of the other panel comprising a plurality of spaced apart tongues exo tending along each of two sides in opposed relation, said tongues formed on the marginal edge of said sides to extend inwardly towards each other, a plurality of spaced apart grooves formed in said inner panel along each of two sides in opposed relation, said grooves spaced to receive therebetween said tongues which are adapted to enter therefrom into said grooves, a tongue along a third side of said outer panel formed on the marginal edge thereof to extend inwardly towards the fourth side of said outer panel, a groove in said inner panel to receive said last mentioned tongue, said inner panel having a ange extended therefrom to overlie the fourth side of said outer panel, and means for securing said tlange to said fourth side including openings in said ange and screw members through a respective opening to thread into said fourth side, and said screw members each having a body section of smaller cross sectional area than the respective opening.

2. A rectangular door structure adapted as a closure between zones having an appreciable temperature difierential, said structure comprising inner and outer panels forming a space therebetween, insulating material dis posed in and substantially lling the space between said panels, said panels being formed of dissimilar material having different characteristics of expansion and contraction upon changes in environment temperature, said outer panel being anged about its periphery to extend towards said inner panel and forming sides thereof, means for interlocking said panels together to permit each of said panels to expand and/or contract independently of the other panel comprising a plurality of spaced apart tongues extending along each of two sides in opposed relation, said tongues formed on the marginal edge of said sides to extend inwardly towards each other, said outer panel having a series of thickened portions along and adjacent two sides thereof spaced to receive therebetween said tongues, said tongues spaced on said outer panel to receive therebetween said thickened portions of said inner panel, grooves formed in said thickened portion to receive said tongues from the adjacent space to interlock the said sides of said panels together, means for interlocking the adjacent interconnecting sides of said inner and outer panels comprising a tongue carried by said outer panel, a groove in said inner panel adapted to receive said tongue, and a depending ange carried by said inner panel adapted to project and overlie an adjacent side of said outer panel, and means for securing said tiange to an adjacent side including openings in said liange and screw members that extend through a respective opening to thread into said adjacent side of said outer panel, and said screw members each having a body section of smaller cross sectional area than the respective opening.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,553,832 Richard May 22, 1951 2,689,059 Nudell Sept. 14, 195,4 2,708,294 Saunders May 17, 1955 

